WEST PALM BEACH – Diversity is important at Carlton Fields, a new shareholder at the firm’s West Palm Beach office told the Florida Record.
“What makes up a great firm is your ability to have a diverse group of individuals who are employed to you,” Kristin Gore, who joined the firm in 2008, said. “Different backgrounds bring different ideas.”
For Ilan Nieuchowicz, another new shareholder at Carlton Fields, a background in business and real estate influenced his litigation interests and benefited the firm’s real property litigation practice.
“I always loved real estate,” Nieuchowicz told the Florida Record.
Nieuchowicz started as a business broker before deciding to attend law school at Florida State College of Law. Following his passion, he joined Carlton Fields in 2008 as a real estate litigator. In the years since, he has studied up on specific aspects of the industry and developed niche practice areas at the firm.
In January, Gore and Nieuchowicz were two of nine total Carlton Fields attorneys elected as shareholders. Eight of the newest shareholders are in the firm’s offices in Tampa, West Palm Beach or Miami. The firm has more than 400 attorneys and financial services consultants in offices across five states and in Washington, D.C.
In interviews, Gore and Nieuchowicz said they were thrilled to take the next step in their careers. While they each contribute something unique, Gore said each attorney must demonstrate talent and hard work to become a shareholder.
“You have to prove yourself,” she said.
Joining the firm just three years after attending Fordham University School of Law, Gore had the opportunity for hands-on experience from the start, she said. She is a member of the firm’s national trial, consumer finance and banking, real estate and commercial finance litigation and telecommunications practice and industry groups. She said she relishes her role as a problem solver, tasked with finding the best way to serve her client and get her point across.
“There’s so many different ways you can achieve your goals,” Gore said. “The firm itself really just gives you the tools to do that from the very beginning.”
Nieuchowicz said he enjoys the variety he encounters in his job. It provides ample opportunity to learn new things – an element that keeps him motivated in his work.
“It’s always something different, something new to learn, something exciting,” he said. “I get to work with interesting and knowledgeable people in my practice and deal with several exciting issues. I get excited about a unique issue that presents itself.”